Ethiopia
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Country Facts
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Capital:
Addis Ababa
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Population:
76,511,887
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Median age:
18 years |
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Infant mortality:
91.92 deaths/1,000 live births |
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Access to improved water source:
22% |
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Access to improved sanitation:
13% |
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Below poverty line:
38.7% |
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Adult literacy:
42.7% |
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Ethiopia is a landlocked country in the eastern Horn of Africa. It is slightly less than twice the size of Texas. The average temperature throughout much of the country is about 60° Fahrenheit. However, the northern part of the country along the Sudanese border can be much hotter. There are nearly 80 languages spoken in Ethiopia, but the most common are Amharic, Tigrinya, and Oromigna.
The need for water and sanitation in Ethiopia is severe. Only 22% of the population has access to an improved water supply, and only 13% of the population has access to adequate sanitation services. In rural areas, these numbers drop even further.
Learn about WaterPartners projects in Ethiopia.
Water Crisis in Ethiopia
In rural areas, women and children walk up to six hours to collect water. Most people collect water from shallow, unprotected ponds which they share with animals. Other people collect water from shallow wells. Both of these sources are subject to contamination as rain water washes waste from surrounding areas into the source. They then carry the large clay jugs of water back to their villages. These jugs can weigh up to 40 pounds! Often, young children are left home by themselves or with a slightly older sibling while their mother and older siblings collect water and their father tends animals or tries to earn money at a job outside the house.
Drought
In the last 20 years, Ethiopia has experienced recurring droughts followed by food shortages and famines. Poverty is accentuated during the droughts. Staple foods, like cabbage, experience sharp increases in prices, while families find that they must sell their cattle for half what they would get in a non-drought year.
Along with limited food supply, during times of drought, water-related diseases are rampant. Surface water sources such as springs and ponds dry up. What limited water sources remain become are heavily contaminated by environmental waste, such as human and animal excreta which is washed in when the limited rains do come. The stagnant water serves as a breeding place for mosquitoes.
In addition to being at risk for contracting diseases through drinking water, there is another risk. In times of drought, it is common for there not to be enough water available to bathe regularly. As a result, community members, especially children, suffer from scabies and eye infections. During these times, in an effort to conserve water, handwashing after defecation or before eating is rarely practiced.
Poverty continues to affect the child mortality rate in Ethiopia. There are many factors that contribute to the high child mortality rate. Diarrheal and water-related diseases are among the principle causes of death in young children. Pneumonia, vaccine-preventable diseases (especially measles), malaria, tuberculosis, and malnutrition are also among the top killers of this age group.
Learn more about Ethiopia
